Electrical connector with improved mating interface

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector ( 1 ) for use with a mating connector includes a base member ( 10 ), a cover member ( 12 ) and a terminal holder ( 14 ). The base member includes a base frame ( 114 ), a mating frame ( 117 ) integrally formed with the base frame at a front end ( 105 ) thereof and an engaging opening ( 115 ) defined in middle of upper walls of the base frame and the mating frame. The cover member includes a rib ( 131 ) at a front end thereof and a protrusion ( 132 ) extending forwardly from the rib. The terminal holder is assembled between the base member and the cover member and includes an insulative housing ( 141 ), a plurality of terminals ( 143 ) received in the housing and a tongue board ( 146 ) extending forwardly from the housing into the mating frame. The mating frame and the protrusion together form a mating interface ( 15 ) with the tongue board received therein for accommodating insertion of the mating connector, whereby the electrical connector has good mating performance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/745,825 filed on Dec. 24, 2003 and entitled “CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMLBYHAVING A LATCH MECHANISM”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/226,769filed on Aug. 23, 2002 and entitled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING ANAUTOMATICALLY RECOVERABLE PULL TAB AND LATCHES” (now U.S. Pat. No.6,648,665) and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/217,636 filed on Aug.12, 2002 and entitled “ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING A LATCH MECHANISM”(now U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,425), all of which have the same applicant andassignee as the present invention. The disclosure of these relatedapplications is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, andmore particularly to an electrical connector which provides improvedmating interface.

2. Description of Prior Art

With the development of communication and computer technology, highdensity electrical connectors with conductive elements in a matrixarrangement are desired to construct a large number of signaltransmitting paths between two electronic devices. Such high densityelectrical connectors are widely used in internal connecting systems ofservers, routers and the like devices requiring high speed dataprocessing and communication.

One interface of the high density electrical connectors known in the artis the D-shaped interface, for example, as shown in U.S. Pat. No.5,358,428. Such an interface comprises a metallic shielding shroudencircling a plurality of conductive terminals therein for shieldingelectrical termination from external electromagnetic interference. Theconfiguration of the shielding shroud is defined by upper and lowerelongated shielding walls extending forwardly from the connector, andtwo oppositely angled end walls which form a substantially trapezoidalshape. The trapezoidal shape provides a polarizing feature forpreventing mismating. However, the shielding shroud is made of rigidmetal and has a certain thickness. Consequently, when mated with acomplementary connector, the shielding shroud could not elasticallydeform, which will lead to unwanted deformation of a correspondingmating portion of the complementary connector and further adverselyaffects electrical performance.

Hence, an electrical connector having an improved mating interface isdesired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide anelectrical connector having an improved mating interface which has goodmating performance.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical connectorfor use with a mating connector in accordance with the present inventioncomprises a base member, a cover member and a terminal holder. The basemember comprises a base frame, a mating frame integrally formed with thebase frame at a front end thereof, and an engaging opening defined inmiddle portions of upper walls of the base frame and the mating frame.The cover member is formed with a rib at a front end thereof and aprotrusion extending forwardly from the rib. The terminal holder isassembled between the base member and the cover member and comprises aninsulative housing, a plurality of terminals received in the housing anda tongue board extending forwardly from the housing into the matingframe. The mating frame and the protrusion together form a matinginterface with the tongue board received therein for accommodatinginsertion of the mating connector, thereby obtaining reliable matingperformance.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description of thepresent embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of an electrical connector inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, perspective view of a base member shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, perspective view of a cover member shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, perspective view of a terminal holder shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view of the base member of the cable connector assembly ofFIG. 2 with a pull tab, a pair of latch springs and the terminal holderof FIG. 4 assembled thereon;

FIG. 6 is an assembled view of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, but viewed from a different angle;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8—8 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9—9 of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe thepresent invention in detail.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electrical connector 1 of the present inventioncomprises a base member 10, a cover member 12 assembled on the basemember 10, a terminal holder 14 received in a space defined between thebase member 10 and the cover member 12, a pair of screws 16, a pull tab17 and a pair of latch springs 18.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, both the base member 10 and the covermember 12 are formed by die casting metallic material, e.g., aluminumalloy. The base member 10 has a receiving space 107 defined by a baseplate 101 and a pair of sidewalls 102 which upwardly extend fromopposite lateral sides of the base plate 101. Each sidewall 102 definesan elongated channel 103 from a rear end 104 toward a front end 105 andextending through a top engaging face 106 of the base member 10. Eachsidewall 102 comprises a shoulder portion 108 and a cutout 110 formedadjacent to the front end 105 at opposite lateral sides of the channel103. The shoulder portions 108 each define a vertical slit 109 at a rearside thereof. A pair of blocks 111 is further formed on inner sides ofthe shoulder portions 108 and each block 111 defines thereon a steppedmounting edge for receiving the terminal holder 14, which will bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter.

The base plate 101 of the base member 10 defines a pair of depressions113 located between the shoulder portions 108 and corresponding cutouts110. The base member 10 also forms a base frame 114 and a mating frame117 extending forwardly from the base frame 114 at the front end 105.The mating frame 117 is integrally formed with the base frame 114 and isthinner than the base frame 114. Both of the mating frame 117 and thebase frame 114 are interrupted by an engaging opening 115 which isdefined in the middle of upper walls thereof. The base frame 114 isformed with a pair of engaging ears 1141 extending laterally fromopposite top sides thereof and a pair of engaging channels 1140 inopposite outer sides thereof. At the rear end 104 of the base member 10,a substantially semicircular first opening 116 is provided for theextension of a cable (not shown). A pair of posts 118 each with a screwhole 1180 defined therethrough are arranged at opposite sides of theopening 116, respectively.

Particularly referring to FIG. 3, the cover member 12 defines areceiving space 127 surrounded by a cover plate 121 and a pair ofsidewalls 122 extending downwardly from opposite lateral sides of thecover plate 121. Each sidewall 122 defines a channel 123 therealongcorresponding to the channel 103 of the base member 10. A pair ofprojections 130 extend forwardly from opposite sides of a front end ofthe cover plate 121. A pair of lumps 124 extend downwardly from thecover plate 121 in correspondence with the blocks 111 of the base member10 for cooperating with the blocks 111 to thereby secure a printedcircuit board 142 (FIG. 4) of the terminal holder 14 in appropriateposition. A pair of depressions 125, in correspondence with thedepressions 113 in the base member 10, is defined in the cover plate121. Similarly, a pair of cutouts 126 is defined in respective sidewalls122 corresponding to the cutouts 110 defined in the base member 10. Arib 131 protrudes downwardly from a front end of the cover plate 121 andis adjacent to the pair of depressions 125. A protrusion 132 extendsforwardly from a middle portion of the rib 131. A front end of theprotrusion 132 is in alignment with front ends of the pair ofprojections 130. Further, a bottom face 1320 of the protrusion 132 and abottom surface of the rib 131 are coplanar with each other. Theprotrusion 132 is formed with a thin forward portion 1322, a middleportion 1321 and a rear portion 1323 connecting with the rib 131. Theforward portion 1322 and the mating frame 117 of the base member 10 haveequal thickness. A top surface of the middle portion 1321 is coplanarwith a top face of the cover plate 121. A substantially semicircularsecond opening 128 is provided in a rear end of the cover member 12 incorrespondence with the first opening 116 of the base member 10. A pairof through-holes 129 is provided on opposite sides of the opening 128,each through-hole 129 having a diameter substantially equal to an outerdiameter of each post 118 of the base member 10.

Turning to FIG. 1, the pull tab 17 and the pair of latch springs 18 areengaged with each other. Specifically, each of the latch springs 18 isformed by stamping a metal sheet, and has a body 181, an L-shapedengaging part 182 and a U-shaped hold part 183 oppositely extend fromopposite ends of the body 181, respectively. An elongated cutout 184 isdefined along the length of the body 181.

The pull tab 17 includes an operable portion 171, a pair of parallelarms 172 extending forwardly from opposite sides of the operable portion171, and a pair of latch releasing portions 173 formed at distal ends ofthe arms 172, respectively. Each latch releasing portion 173 has anembossment 176 protruding outwardly from an outer face thereof.

With reference to FIG. 4, the terminal holder 14 of the electricalconnector 1 is shown in detail. The terminal holder 14 is assembledbetween the base member 10 and the cover member 12 and comprises aninsulating housing 141, the printed circuit board 142 assembled onto arear side of the housing 141, and a plurality of conductive terminals143 accommodated in the housing 141. The printed circuit board 142 has anumber of first conductive pads 144 formed on a forward end of bothsides thereof and a number of second conductive pads 145 formed on arearward end of both sides thereof. Soldering portions 1432 of theterminals 143 are electrically soldered with the first conductive pads144 and contacting portions 1430 of the terminals 143 are disposed in atongue board 146 formed at a front end of the housing 141 forelectrically connecting with a complementary connector (not shown). Arecess 147 is recessed inwardly from a top face of the housing 141 foraccommodating the middle portion 1323 of the protrusion 132. Thedistance from a bottom face of the recess 147 to the top face of thehousing 141 is equal to the thickness of the rear portion 1323 of theprotrusion 132.

Turning back to FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIGS. 2–7, in assembly, theterminal holder 14 is assembled to the base member 10 with the tongueboard 146 placed in the mating fame 117. The printed circuit board 142is located in the receiving space 107 of the base member 10 andsupported by the blocks 111. The two latch springs 18 are respectivelyassembled to the arms 172 of the pull tab 17 by extending theembossments 176 into the cutouts 184 from inner faces of the latchsprings 18, whereby the latch releasing portions 173 engage with theinner faces of the latch springs 18, respectively. Then, the latchsprings 18 together with the pull tab 17 are assembled to the basemember 10. The arms 172 of the pull tab 17 are placed into the channels103 of the base member 10 with the operable portion 171 located outsidethe rear end 104 of the base member 10. The U-shaped, hold part 183 arepartially received in the slits 109 of the shoulder portions 108 andengage with the rear ends of the shoulder portions 108 to secure thelatch springs 18 on the base member 10. Lower ends of the latchreleasing portions 173 are accommodated in corresponding depressions113. The L-shaped, engaging parts 182 are housed at opposite sides ofthe front end 105 of the base member 10 for latching with thecomplementary connector.

Referring to FIGS. 2–7 in conjunction with FIGS. 8–9, the cover member12 is attached onto the base member 10 by placing the projections 130below the pair of engaging ears 1141. Simultaneously, the protrusion 132fully fills up the engaging opening 115. The rear portion 1323 isfittingly received in the recess 147 of the terminal holder 14 with asurface thereof intimately abutting against a bottom face of the recess147, which assists fixation of the terminal holder 14. The top surfaceof the middle portion 1321 is coplanar with a top face of the base frame114. Then a rear portion of the cover member 12 is rotated downwardlyabout the pair of engaging ears 1141 until the bottom face of the covermember 12 intimately abuts the top engaging face 106 of the base member10. In this manner, the mating frame 117 and the forward portion 1322 ofthe protrusion 132 together form a D-shaped mating interface 15 with thetongue board 146 of the terminal holder 14 extending therein foraccommodating insertion of a mating connector (not shown). The first andthe second openings 116, 128 together form a cable receiving opening 19(FIG. 7) for extension of the cable therethrough. Finally, the pair ofscrews 16 are put into the through holes 129 and screwed into the screwholes 1180 to securely fasten the cover member 12 and the base member 10together, whereby the electrical connector 1 in accordance with thepresent invention is obtained. Since the mating interface 15 is formedwith two separate parts, when the mating connector is inserted into theelectrical connector 1, the mating interface 15 could expand in lateraldirection. In other words, the electrical connector 1 of the presentinvention provides good mating performance when it is mating with acomplementary connector.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerouscharacteristics and advantages of the present invention have been setforth in the foregoing description, together with details of thestructure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrativeonly, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape,size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention tothe full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms inwhich the appended claims are expressed.

1. An electrical connector adapted for mating with a mating connector,comprising: a base member having a base frame, a mating frame formed ata front end of the base frame, and an engaging opening defined in upperwalls of the base frame and the mating frame; a cover member having arib at a front end thereof and a protrusion extending forwardly from therib; and a terminal holder assembled between the base member and thecover member and comprising an insulative housing, a plurality ofterminals received in the housing and a tongue board extending forwardlyfrom the housing into the mating frame; wherein the protrusion of thecover member fills the engaging opening of the base member, the matingframe and the protrusion together form a mating interface with thetongue board received therein for accommodating insertion of the matingconnector, and when the mating connector is inserted into the electricalconnector, the mating interface elastically expands in a lateraldirection.
 2. The electrical connector as described in claim 1, whereinthe protrusion of the cover member is formed with a forward portion, arear portion adjacent to the rib and a middle portion connecting theforward portion and the rear portion.
 3. The electrical connector asdescribed in claim 2, wherein the forward portion of the protrusion isthinner than the middle portion.
 4. The electrical connector asdescribed in claim 2, wherein the forward portion of the protrusion andthe mating frame of the base member have equal thickness.
 5. Theelectrical connector as described in claim 2, wherein the middle portionof the protrusion and the base frame of the base member have equalthickness.
 6. The electrical connector as described in claim 2, whereinthe terminal holder has a recess at the top thereof for accommodatingthe rear portion of the protrusion.
 7. The electrical connector asdescribed in claim 1, wherein the mating interface has a trapezoidalconfiguration.
 8. The electrical connector as described in claim 1,wherein the base member comprises a pair of engaging ears extendinglaterally from opposite top sides thereof.
 9. The electrical connectoras described in claim 8, wherein the cover member comprises a pair ofprojections extending forwardly from opposite lateral sides thereof, theprojections being positioned below the corresponding engaging ears. 10.The electrical connector as described in claim 1, further comprising apull tab assembled between the base member and the cover member, and apair of latch springs assembled on the pull tab.
 11. An electricalconnector comprising: a horizontal base member and a horizontal covermember complementarily assembled to each other and commonly define aninternal space; an uprightly extending base frame formed on a frontportion of the base member, said base frame defining a completecircumference except an engaging opening formed thereof around the covermember; a terminal holder snugly received in said circumference; aplurality of terminals disposed in said terminal holder with forwardlyextending mating portions for mating with a complementary connector andtail portions for electrically connecting to a cable; and a protrusionformed on a front portion of the cover member and snugly received insaid engaging opening so as to cooperate with said base frame to formthe complete circumference.
 12. The connector as described in claim 11,wherein said terminal holder further defines a recess in verticalalignment with said engaging opening.
 13. The connector as described inclaim 12, wherein a lower portion of said protrusion is received in saidrecess, and an upper portion of said protrusion is received in saidengaging opening.
 14. The connector as described in claim 11, wherein amating frame extends forwardly from said base frame with a D-shapedperiphery.
 15. The connector as described in claim 14, wherein saidengaging opening extends forwardly through said mating frame and form acutout in said periphery.
 16. The connector as described in claim 15,wherein said protrusion extends forwardly to occupy said cutout.
 17. Anelectrical connector comprising: a horizontal base member and ahorizontal cover member complementarily assembled to each other andcommonly define an internal space; an uprightly extending base frameformed on a front portion of the base member; a mating frame forwardlyextending from said base frame and defining a mating port thereof; anengaging opening interrupting a periphery of said mating frame in afront-to-back direction; a terminal holder snugly received in said baseframe; a plurality of terminals disposed in said terminal holder withforwardly extending mating portions for mating with a complementaryconnector and tail portions for electrically connecting to a cable; anda protrusion formed on a front portion of the cover member and snuglyreceived in said engaging opening so as to cooperate with said matingframe to define a complete periphery of said mating port.